How Many Cycles Does a MacBook Battery Last

When should I expect to replace my macbook battery. I would say 2/3 the time I use my machine (on almost all the time) it's from the adapter. But when I use the battery for power, I usually use the machine until the battery is more than 50% gone.

Right now my iStat says me battery has "41 Cycles". How many will/should it last? How much should I expect to replace it?

I'm using a 15" powerbook that has gone through 288 cycles and is at 92% of its original capacity after 18 months. You can keep an eye on things with coconut battery if you're worried about it. It's a nice little app. I'd say you've got a lot of life in your battery, yet.

Mine's 94% after five. Man, I'm getting ticked. I never had over 5000mAhs on my Macbook, and everyones seems to be higher. YET, I can get nearly four hours before it dies. Something wrong with the sensor?

mine is about 5 months old, only 4 cycles (and i use it on battery ALL the time), and i am actually at 5321mAh, more than the original 5200. I think part of it is that almost every time I unplug it, i don't plug it back in until it puts itsself to sleep. and every 2 weeks or so, i disable hibernation with insomniax and let it die completely. make sure that whenever u discharge, let it get as low as you can whenever possible, and when u recharge, charge it up to 100 percent. everytime i do this, the capacity creeps up a bit. I did this with my 5 year old compaq and still am getting 80% life out of the original battery.

mine is about 5 months old, only 4 cycles (and i use it on battery ALL the time), and i am actually at 5321mAh, more than the original 5200. I think part of it is that almost every time I unplug it, i don't plug it back in until it puts itsself to sleep. and every 2 weeks or so, i disable hibernation with insomniax and let it die completely. make sure that whenever u discharge, let it get as low as you can whenever possible, and when u recharge, charge it up to 100 percent. everytime i do this, the capacity creeps up a bit. I did this with my 5 year old compaq and still am getting 80% life out of the original battery.

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According to the pic you attached, your charger is not connected yet your battery is charging. How is this possible?

Better to use Battery Health Monitor, or simply go to System Profiler -> Hardware -> Power.

According to Apple, a well-maintained battery should retain 80% capacity at 300 cycles (it's noted in a document on the Apple support site).

A few weeks ago, my battery was reporting 54% capacity at 300 cycles exactly. Went to an Apple store, and got a new one without problem (they used System Profiler). Heck, they didn't take my serial # or other information.

EDIT: After reading tip's comment above, I'm more convinced. BTW, iStat's information matches the data from System Profiler; the data from Coconut is wonky, according to it my battery has experienced only 7 load-cycles.

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